Immunology

Recent advances in cancer immunotherapy have directly built on 50 years of fundamental and technological advances that made checkpoint blockade and T cell engineering possible. In this review, we intend to show that research, not specifically designed to bring relief or cure to any particular disease, can, when creatively exploited, lead to spectacular results in the management of cancer. The discovery of thymus immune function, T cells, and immune surveillance bore the seeds for today’s targeted immune interventions and chimeric antigen receptors.

Via Krishan Maggon

Highlights

 

•T effector cell differentiation depends on de novo fatty acid (FA) synthesis.•CD8+ T memory cell development and function depend on both FA synthesis and oxidation.•FA synthesis and oxidation are determinants for CD4+ T effector versus Treg cell development.•These pathways may present therapeutic targets for modulating T cell responses in vivo.

 

The specific regulation of cellular metabolic processes is of major importance for directing immune cell differentiation and function. We review recent evidence indicating that changes in basic cellular lipid metabolism have critical effects on T cell proliferation and cell fate decisions. While induction of de novo fatty acid (FA) synthesis is essential for activation-induced proliferation and differentiation of effector T cells, FA catabolism via β-oxidation is important for the development of CD8+ T cell memory as well as for the differentiation of CD4+ regulatory T cells. We consider the influence of lipid metabolism and metabolic intermediates on the regulation of signaling and transcriptional pathways via post-translational modifications, and discuss how an improved understanding of FA metabolism may reveal strategies for manipulating immune responses towards therapeutic outcomes.

Via Krishan Maggon